Aloha HB!

recently came up on a great deal on a year 2000 Elektra A3*. very excited about restoring and brewing espresso with this machine! and thank you to all who've contributed to the immense wealth of info on this machine already!

I've been doing some digging on the forum and google about a newly acquired Elektra A3* and still have some questions.

1. what does the *asterisk indicate on the model identifier for this machine? The nameplate states it's 110V 50/60hz, and it's a semi-auto with the group lever-switch.

2. I have no idea what condition the internals are in, but previous owner said it was barely used. I plan on popping the group cap off with a 17mm hex for initial inspection. Any other inspection ports i should peer into to evaluate the overall condition of the plumbing?

3. Does anyone have a link to a procedure for draining the boiler? i'm hearing a bit of water splashing around inside and i'm assuming it's stale water. i had a quick look at the manual and it mentioned something about removing the rear cover of the machine and tipping the machine on its side. is the drain located somewhere on the side of the boiler?

4. innards of the portafilters are *strangely* sparkling (this thing truly barely used?) Is there anything that i should look at or give attention to when doing an overall cleanup pre-power up on a machine that was seldom used?

4a. the hot water and steam levers have what looks like some sort of grey grease that is built up around the edges of the ball-sockets. should these be regularly re-greased? if so, what type of grease is recommended?

5. I'm coming from using a la cimbali m29 where i usually load the basket with 25-27g. I've heard this has a rather deep shower screen and thusly needs more depth in the basket for nominal headspace --can anyone give me more insight on the matter? is there any way for me to brew at least 21g+ shots on the A3?

6. being a 110V unit, how many back to back shots can this machine make before it needs to recycle? I did read HB's review on the time it took to steam varying volumes of milk, was this machine a 110 unit?

thanks for your thoughts! if anyone has any other helpful advice i'm all ears.


edit: i plan on using this method if a descale is necessary - Descaling the Elektra A3

and i've been using this as a guide for any dis-assembly necessary https://www.espressoworkshop.com/cgi-bi ... e=1&file=3

Congrats on your machine! Before you get to opening the whole thing up take look under the brew head and see what the shower screen looks like. I would probably also remove the shower screen and look at the dispersion block and see what that looks like. That could really give you an idea of how used the machine is. If it was rarely used then it would be adequate to say that particular piece should be in somewhat acceptable condition.

As far as your concern for bullet point #6 goes this machine has a huge boiler. 6 Liters! Thus you can only imagine what size of a heating element accompanies such a monstrosity. In other words trust me your okay! But can check out the specs and be reassured however that this machine is a beast and hopefully the proud owners of these will chime in soon!

Marlon, thanks for the advice!

i would also like to add another interesting thought. I know the group is not an e61, but does the lever actuation behave like an e61?

ex: half stroke gives line preinfusion, full stroke turns pump on

edit again: sigh, more searching shows me how the lever behaves: Buyer's Guide to the Elektra A3

In regards to the grease you can find references to food safe greases like Dow111 etc. Some site sponsors like Stefano also have suitable grease (a Haynes product from memory).

I don't believe the boiler has a dedicated drain port, but you can certainly disconnect one of the fittings connecting to the bottom of the boiler to drain that way. Some further discussion in this thread: Draining Elektra A3 boiler

With my Elektra T1 I'm using around 15.5g doses in a standard double basket. To get to 21 grams I suspect you would need to use a bottomless portafilter and triple basket.

If you're having a hard time dialing things in it's because you're overfilling the basket.

It appears that A3 has no pre-infusion according to this thread below.
On the third post Dan Kehn states that the A3 has no pre-infusion.

What is preinfusion and does it really matter?



However on the thread below there is some interesting information regarding experiments on this matter that might be useful.

Pressure profiles, preinfusion and the forgiveness factor

1. what does the *asterisk indicate on the model identifier for this machine? The nameplate states it's 110V 50/60hz, and it's a semi-auto with the group lever-switch. (nothing)

2. I have no idea what condition the internals are in, but previous owner said it was barely used. I plan on popping the group cap off with a 17mm hex for initial inspection. Any other inspection ports i should peer into to evaluate the overall condition of the plumbing? Remove the group cap and see what it looks like, the heat exchanger also has an access port on top of the boiler. You can remove it and look in there as well

3. Does anyone have a link to a procedure for draining the boiler? i'm hearing a bit of water splashing around inside and i'm assuming it's stale water. i had a quick look at the manual and it mentioned something about removing the rear cover of the machine and tipping the machine on its side. is the drain located somewhere on the side of the boiler? No drain on the boiler, just fill it up, let it heat, then purge the boiler via the water tap. Do that a half dozen times.

4. innards of the portafilters are *strangely* sparkling (this thing truly barely used?) Is there anything that i should look at or give attention to when doing an overall cleanup pre-power up on a machine that was seldom used? If it is scaled, descale, If it is not dont worry about it. Give the group a good detergent backflush then you are good to go

4a. the hot water and steam levers have what looks like some sort of grey grease that is built up around the edges of the ball-sockets. should these be regularly re-greased? if so, what type of grease is recommended? in 8 years of 24/7 use i have never had to grease them, that is just break in grese. Wipe the buildup off with a towel.

5. I'm coming from using a la cimbali m29 where i usually load the basket with 25-27g. I've heard this has a rather deep shower screen and thusly needs more depth in the basket for nominal headspace --can anyone give me more insight on the matter? is there any way for me to brew at least 21g+ shots on the A3? The dispersion block sits very low, for 21g you will need a triple basket and that will be pushing it. I run 18-20 in a triple, 14-17 in the stock double.

6. being a 110V unit, how many back to back shots can this machine make before it needs to recycle? I did read HB's review on the time it took to steam varying volumes of milk, was this machine a 110 unit? It is a 6 liter single group commercial machine. You will not be able to pull shots faster than it can recover. Be aware it is designed to be turned on and left on forever. It takes close to 2 hours to heat, 3 to reach equilibrium.

thanks for your thoughts! if anyone has any other helpful advice i'm all ears. Plumb it in, put a regulator on the input so you get 2-3 bars of input pressure, use a 3/8 inch feed line, anything smaller will be to small. Let it heat for 2 hours, there is no recovery time needed, flush the machine for about 10 seconds after flash boil stops and you will be right at 200F provided your boiler is set at 1.1 bar on the top of cycle. Do not overdose, it will only bring you misery, get a very good grinder.


edit: i plan on using this method if a descale is necessary - Descaling the Elektra A3

and i've been using this as a guide for any dis-assembly necessary https://www.espressoworkshop.com/cgi-bi ... e=1&file=3[/quote]

+100

Don't over think it, and set your pressure stat at about 1 - 1.1 bar. Done.

this has been beyond helpful!!

thank you to all who replied!! you guys are awesome!

i've so far hooked everything up, set inlet PSI to the recommended, chemical backflushed the group head. it looks pretty clean inside at the group cap, but the water that initially (and still is) coming out from the machine is white-ish and not clear. i haven't let much run out, unfortunately which brings me to a new question:

I was planning to flush the boiler as instructed by cannonfodder, but the hot water tap doesn't work. steam wand and group head dispense steam and water perfectly fine, but the hot water tap does nothing. doesn't drip, doesn't spit, no vapor, no nothing.

ideas? i'm planning on letting the thing cool down and pulling the hot water valve piping to check for blockage.

thanks to everyone here and some common sense, i now have it up and running!

the image above was 24g in, 29g out over a 36 second draw. Ethiopian Kochoha SOE, bright fruits and complex florals. cheers!